D-Day: When the Allies turned the tide

Normandy

U.S. troops wade ashore during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, June 6, 1944.

D-Day was one of the world's most gut-wrenching and consequential battles. Nearly 160,000 American, British, Canadian and French troops participated in the invasion of northwest France, known as Operation Overlord. More than 9,000 Allied forces were killed or wounded.

The Allied landing led to the liberation of France, and marked the turning point in the European theater of World War II.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

Credit: AP Photo

Gen. Eisenhower

The Allied commander, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, gives instructions to paratroopers at the beginning of D-Day landing operations, in England, June 1944.

Prior to the invasion, Gen. Eisenhower broadcast a message to the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! which said, in part: "You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world."

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord -- the code-name for the invasion of Normandy -- involved an aerial and amphibious assault along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified coastline of Nazi-occupied France, involving about 7,000 vessels, 12,000 aircraft and nearly 160,000 Allied troops.

Credit: CBS/AP

Omaha Beach

On June 4, 1944, medium bombers of the Ninth Air Force (left) began two days of bombardment of the coast near Pointe du Hoc, France -- "Omaha Beach" -- prior to the amphibious assault.

Credit: National Archives: U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy

LCTs

Jeeps and trucks are loaded onto landing craft (LCTs) in an English port prior to the launch of the D-Day invasion.

Credit: U.S. Army

Paratroopers

On the evening before the beach assault, 23,000 British and American paratroopers landed in France, behind the defensive lines of the German Army.

Credit: National Archives

Invasion Preparations

American troops board landing craft in Britain in preparation of the invasion of France on D-Day.

Utah Beach

Omaha Beach

A frame from color footage shows the battleship USS Texas firing salvos at Axis positions during the Allied landing at Omaha Beach, on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Credit: AP

Omaha Beach

American troops disembark from landing crafts at Omaha Beach during D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Utah Beach

The USS Nevada fires its 14" forward guns at German position on shore at Utah Beach, during the D-Day Invasion, June 6, 1944.

Credit: National Archives/U.S. Navy

Utah Beach

American troops of the 4th Infantry Division (the "Famous Fourth") land on Utah Beach June 6, 1944, during the D-Day Invasion.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Normandy

An aerial view taken from a B-26 shows 32 American merchant ships which were purposefully sunk off the coast of Normandy to support Allied forces. With Army gunners onboard, the ships served as both a breakwater and as offshore anti-aircraft gun platforms to protect Allied forces storming the beaches on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Omaha Beach

Survivors of a sunken landing craft are helped from their life raft onto Omaha Beach, June 4, 1944.

Credit: U.S. Army

Normandy

A "Rhino" ferry -- 42-by-176 foot flat-bottomed pontoon barges, used to transport supplies and vehicles from ship to shore -- is assisted by a tug as it approaches the beach at Normandy on D-Day.

Credit: National Archives/U.S. Coast Guard

Juno Beach

Canadian soldiers from the 9th Brigade land with their bicycles at Juno Beach in Bernieres-sur-Mer during D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Normandy

Two survivors of a ship hit by enemy fire and sunk are rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard boat off Normandy, June 6, 1944.

Credit: National Archives/U.S. Coast Guard

Normandy

Crossed rifles lay in the sand as a tribute to a fallen American soldier, on the shores of Normandy, June 6, 1944.

Credit: National Archives

Normandy

French commandos equipped with bikes disembark from landing crafts during the D-Day Invasion, June 6, 1944.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Normandy

American troops are ready to disembark from crafts during D-Day, June 6, 1944 after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Normandy

Canadian soldiers land on Courseulles beach in Normandy, June 6, 1944 as Allied forces storm Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Normandy

American troops land on the beaches of Normandy during the historic D-Day Invasion, June 6, 1944.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Utah Beach

Soldiers of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, strike out over the seawall at Utah Beach, June 6, 1944.

Credit: National Archives/U.S. Army Signal Corps

Normandy

A view of landing craft, barrage balloons, and Allied troops landing at Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Credit: Library of Congress/U.S. Maritime Commission

Normandy

U.S. soldiers gather around trucks disembarking from crafts shortly after the D-Day landing, June 6, 1944.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Normandy

Allied soldiers on the beaches of Normandy after the D-Day invasion, June 6, 1944.

Omaha Beach

Normandy

Soldiers of the Allied Expeditionary Corps stand sentry on a beach of Normandy in Northern France during June 1944 operations, after the historic D-Day Invasion.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Normandy

An American soldier has just landed his glider after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches, on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

New York City

Crowds read the news ticker for the latest on the D-Day Invasion, in Times Square, New York City, June 6, 1944.

Credit: Library of Congress/Office of War Information

France

U.S. soldiers surround a burning German tank in a village in France in June 1944, after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches during D-Day.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Douet, France

British soldiers cross the village of Douet, France, June 8, 1944, after the town of Bayeux fell during the Allied invasion of D-Day.

Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images

France

Allied soldiers meet a herd of cows as they make their way through the Normandy countryside, a few days after Allied troops landed on the beaches of northwest France.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

The Fallen

Visitors look at the crosses in the American Military Cemetery June 5, 2003 near Omaha Beach, Colleville sur Mer in Normandy, France. At Omaha Beach alone, more than 3,000 American personnel were killed, wounded or missing by the end of the first day of action on June 6, 1944.